Introduction
Starting wildflowers from seed is a fun and inexpensive way to populate your new pollinator garden or to add native plants to your existing garden. Ideally, these seeds should come from this eco-region because the plants they produce will be more adapted to our regional climate. Native plants from the Canadian Atlantic provinces, along with the USA New England states are all considered acceptable natives for Nova Scotia.

To find out why it matters to put more native plants in your garden, see this excellent article offered by the Audubon Society.

If you are just beginning, you will want to know what plants are recommended. Besides the pollination support, most gardeners want plants that are considered good garden plants. A short list is offered in this same “Butterflyway” web site area titled “Plants That Attract Butterflies”. A more complete list (including shrubs and trees) is offered by the USA Pollinator Partnership. They offer a downloadable information booklet for ecoregions in USA and Canada, which includes a list of best pollinator plants (along with other good information on pollinators). For Nova Scotia choose the Southwest NS Uplands booklet (because they do not provide one for the Annapolis Valley): https://pollinator.org/guides#zip

A good source for local seed might be a friend who collected seed from their own garden native plants. Another source is our local Harriet Irving Botanical Gardens (Acadia Un.) which has a native plant sale every spring. If you find you need to order commercially offered seeds or buy spring transplants the following information may be helpful.

Seeds
Unfortunately, our Atlantic region has no wildflower seed company. Most of the mainstream seed companies do offer a number of native plants that are already popular as garden plants. See the “Transplants” section below for a list of common garden plants that are also native. Many of us like to support the smaller seed companies in Nova Scotia but most do not offer many native wildflower seeds. The company with the largest offering is Annapolis Seeds, with six native wildflowers.

The closest Canadian wildflower seed companies are in Ontario, which is close in climate to our ecoregion. Two companies can be recommended:
Wildflower Farms: https://www.wildflowerfarm.com
Richters: https://www.richters.com/

Richters has a large selection of herbs and traditional medicinal plants. Some of the medicinal plants are native plants, with an interesting history of use by indigenous peoples.

Further away, but with a large inventory, is Prairie Moon Nursery, Minnesota: https://www.prairiemoon.com/

Wildflower Farm and Prairie Moon web sites are both excellent resources for detailed instructions for germinating the seeds of each plant species. Many wildflower seeds require stratification (chilling to mimic the winter cold) and it is very important to follow the guidelines to achieve germination. You can start many seeds in small pots and then when the seedlings have 4-6 leaves, transplant each seedling into a 4” pot and allow them to grow into a larger plant before planting them out. This will give you a better chance of success. For more detailed advice on the equipment required (grow lights, types of soil, etc.) there are many on-line gardening sites or gardening books in the Valley library system.

Seed Mixes
Most seed companies now offer wildflower seed mixes in various sizes of packets, for the creation of small or large pollinator meadows. The creation of a larger meadow is not an easy task, requiring careful preparation work (to ensure all weed seeds are removed) and a lot of patience since plants can take up to 3 years to reach full maturity. A smaller meadow is a better way to start with a better chance of success. Be sure to check the list of seeds to ensure that it has a good proportion of native plants. Another approach is to order individual seed packets and then create your own mix. This way you can ensure you have mostly native plants. For a smaller garden or meadow, it’s best to limit the number of species.

If you still wish to plant a larger wildflower meadow, here is an excellent article by the extension department of the Un. of New Hampshire.

Transplants
If you can afford it, purchasing transplants (plants in pots) gives the beginner the best chance of success. This is also a good way to gradually introduce a few native plants to your existing garden. The transplants, especially more mature plants, will better compete with the existing plants for light and nutrients. Keep in mind that after flowering, you can start collecting your own seeds and experiment with starting your own transplants from seed.

Most of our local nurseries carry a few native plants that are valued as good garden plants. The more common of these plants are listed below. When buying, look at the botanical name to ensure you are getting the right plant.

For a Sunny Garden:

Yarrow (Achillea millefolium)
Butterfly Milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa)
Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta)
Asters (Symphyotrichum sp.)
Blazing Star (Liatris spicata)
Large-leaved Lupine (Lupinus polyphyllus)
Wild Bergamot or Bee Balm (Monarda sp.)
Purple Coneflower (Echinacea purpurpea)
For a Damp Garden, Semi-shade:

Swamp Milkweed (Asclepias incarnata)
Joe Pye Weed (Eutrochium maculatum)
Cardinal flower (Lobelia cardinalis)
Great Blue Lobelia (Lobelia siphilitica)
Culver’s Root (Veronicastrum virginicum)
WhiteTurtlehead (Chelone glabra)
Black Cohosh (Cimicifuga racemosa)
Blue flag Iris (Iris versicolor)
If you want to add to these more common garden plants (which means you will probably have to order seeds) here is a short list of other native plants for your garden:

Pearly Everlasting (Anaphalis margaritacea)
Hairy Beardtongue (Penstemon hirsutus)
Purple Avens (Geum rivale)
Mountain Mint (Pycnanthemum pilosum)
Blue Vervain (Verbena hastata)
Golden Alexander (Zizia aurea)
Boneset (Eupatorium perfoliatum)
Pale Spiked Lobelia (Lobelia spicata)
Eastern Waterleaf (Hydrophyllum virginianum)
Wild Columbine (Aquilegia Canadensis)
Goldenrod (Solidago,sp.)
Note: This section does not address why it is important to use native plants. See another section in this web area: “Planting a Butterfly Garden”.